A Life to Call Home
by knightshade
Summary: The FLAG team celebrates a successful case. Michael/Bonnie shippy fluff.


Title: A Life to Call Home

Author: knightshade

Rating: PG

Summary: The FLAG team celebrates a successful case. Michael/Bonnie shippy fluff.

Disclaimer: I don't own Knight Rider, its characters, branches, divisions, or wholly owned subsidiaries. See Glen A. Larson.

Author's Notes: This was posted on Live Journal quite a while ago (so if you knew me there, you've probably seen it). I never got around to posting it anywhere else, but I ran across it on my hard drive and the fandom needs more Michael/Bonnie shippy fluff, or any Michael/Bonnie for that matter.

Thank you to Nutty for everything.

**A Life to Call Home**

It wasn't like the stereotypes – there weren't any strings of lights overhead, bales of hay, or even a barn for that matter. Just a bonfire in an open field, some plank risers for a stage, and rows of picnic tables lined up with enough pot-luck to keep a man fed for life. It wasn't what Michael had been expecting, but here they all were in a small western town having a square dance. Although it wasn't even that anymore. The caller had called it a night but Wayne's band kept playing, filling the night air with blazing fiddles and boot-stomping rhythms. It permeated Michael's head, and made his feet itch to move along.

The orderly squares had splintered into chaos. There were groups doing different line dances and plenty of couples just dancing. Michael was having a good time doing a doe-se-doe with Wayne's kid sister, Jessica. When the song ended, he bowed formally and thanked her for the dance. He was treated to a squeal of self-conscious giggles as he tipped his hat and took his leave. Searching the crowd, he spotted Bonnie dancing in a loose group of Wayne's cousins, and made his way over as the band struck up the next song.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, deciding to stick with formal. She laughed and angled more towards him and away from the group. "Of course."

The music had a way of just sweeping Michael along. He'd always been pretty narrow in his musical tastes. Most of what he listened to was straight up rock-and-roll, but the saw-blade-fast fiddle and plucking guitar somehow just came alive in him. He glanced down at Bonnie, who was smiling up to her eyeballs and decided there must be something contagious about fiddles and banjos.

"You know, I'm still surprised you managed to get Devon to square dance," he said, raising his voice to be heard over the music.

Bonnie shrugged. "He's not really the stick-in-the-mud he'd like everyone to think he is." She'd had to go take his arm and pull him into their group, but he seemed to enjoy himself after that, dancing with Jessica as a partner. He'd left when the square dancing ended, but he'd really been cutting a rug for a while there.

Michael and Bonnie danced together for a couple more songs before she sank in an exaggerated sigh and said she needed a break. "How about a walk?" he suggested. At her nod he threaded a path through the other dancers, leading her past the picnic tables, and following the gravel trail along the edge of Wayne's property. The band was still loud, but they'd moved off enough to have a normal conversation.

"You did a good job," she said, gesturing back towards the house, "helping them."

"Thank you." It was rare that she complimented him on something work related. Of course, he hadn't damaged Kitt this time which probably helped.

"It's so nice out here," Bonnie said wistfully.

He nodded as she slowed to a stop and stood watching the dancers from afar. Lit by the bonfire, her face was glowing and her cheeks flushed. She turned back to look up at him and the same fiddle that was dancing in Michael's chest was singing in her eyes. On a whim he slowly drew her closer and when she didn't pull away, he leaned down to kiss her. Bonnie's lips were warm and slightly salty. His heart was pounding in his chest, and Michael was fairly sure it wasn't from the dancing. He was nervous about her reaction so he didn't linger as long as he would have liked. He pulled back and was relieved to see her smiling.

"That was nice," she said her eyes sparkling in the darkness.

"Oh. Well, in that case …"

"Hey, Michael?" someone called.

Reluctantly, he turned his attention away from Bonnie to see Wayne's brother Pete trotting toward them.

"You're not leaving, are you? Because we weren't finished saying thank you." He obviously didn't realize that he was interrupting.

"Ah. No. I won't be leaving until sometime tomorrow." Michael gestured back to the party. "But you've thanked us plenty. You didn't need to go to all this trouble."

"This is nothing. We just appreciate you helping us save our ranch."

"Anytime." He reached across Bonnie to shake Pete's hand. Pete tipped his hat to both of them and then slipped back into the darkness.

Michael rested his hand on Bonnie's shoulder.

"So where were we?"

"I think we were going for walk." At first he was disappointed, but she slid her hand into his, giving him the sneaky suspicion that they were headed somewhere a little more private. The fiddle struck up again and the feeling went beyond wanting to dance. He wanted to float.

"I had a great time tonight," she said. "I've never had any desire to live in a small town, but sometimes, in places like this, I can see the appeal."

Michael looked over his shoulder at the people still dancing behind them. The music was getting softer but it was still lively and lifted his heart. Tonight he was square dancing in a tiny desert town and holding Bonnie's hand. Tomorrow he'd probably be fighting traffic in L.A. and bickering with her. It was funny the twists and turns his life sometimes took.

"Yeah, it's nice." He squeezed Bonnie's hand and swung it slightly as they walked.

He wasn't sure where exactly they were going, but he didn't really care. He was just happy to have what he had right here and now.

This wasn't a life he'd chosen, but it was one he was happy to call home.

~knightshade

June 27, 2006


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